Beverly Kelly Ames

Beverly Kelly Ames, 84, of Ilion, NY, passed away peacefully on September 10, 2025, at Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse, NY after a brief illness, and went to be with our Lord and Savior.

Born in Ilion, NY, on May 11, 1941, to Robert Paul Kelly and Helen Marhaver Kelly, she grew up in the Village of Ilion, located in the Mohawk Valley. She was an alumni of Annunciation School, and a graduate of Ilion High School. On July 8, 1961, she married her beloved husband of sixty-four years, Walter “Skip” Ames. Prior to working at Oneida National Bank in Ilion, NY, Beverly attended St. Elizabeth College of Nursing in Utica, NY. Because she desired to be ever-present in her children’s lives, she worked in the Ilion School District cafeterias, and only later retired to take care of her mother, Helen.

A devout Catholic, Beverly was a member of Annunciation Church in Ilion, NY, and became a Youth Coordinator, along with her husband Skip, for the Ilion CYO at Annunciation Church. She enjoyed doing arts and crafts, painting ceramics, and was a member of the Ladies Home Bureau, in Ilion. She was an originator of the Lamp Lighters for the Ilion Volunteer Fire Department. She truly enjoyed watching Syracuse basketball games. An avid bird watcher, she especially loved cardinals, Baltimore orioles, and hummingbirds. She also loved plants and gardening, snowmen, and sunflowers, but truly enjoyed decorating for the holidays (especially Christmas). For thirty-one years, Beverly delighted in spending her summers in the Thousand Islands, at Kring Point, NY on the St. Lawrence River, with her husband, family, and friends.

Beverly was pre-deceased by her parents, Robert Paul Kelly and Helen Marhaver Kelly; her grandparents, Agnes Gilligan Marhaver and Arleigh Marhaver; and her in-laws, Walter Daniel Ames, Sr. and Iola Zoller Ames.

She was pre-deceased by her extended family on the Kelly side: her aunt, Marie C. Kelly, three uncles and their late wives, Lewis Kelly (Anna), James Kelly (Elizabeth), and Larry Kelly (Shirley), and a cousin, Patrick Kelly.

She was pre-deceased by her extended family on the Marhaver side: her uncle and his late wife, Edward “Ned” Arleigh Marhaver (Katie), her nephew, Carl Edward Marhaver, and a nephew-in-law, David A. Smith.

She was pre-deceased by her extended family on the Ames side: her sister-in-law and late brother-in-law, Barbara Ames Szczesniak (Chet), her two brothers-in-law, Donald Ames, and Robert Richards, and her niece-in-law, Elizabeth Richards.

She is survived by her husband, Walter Daniel “Skip” Ames; her three children, Lisa Marie (Ames) Miller (Shannon), Mark Daniel Ames, and Noel K. Ames (Lindsay); her three grandchildren, Zachary Christian Ames (Elizabeth), Craig Daniel Miller, and Morgan Noelle Ames; and two great-grandchildren: Adrian Walter Ames, and Nicholas William Ames.

She is survived by her extended family on the Kelly side: her four cousins, Nancy Bronson (Bill), Bill Kelly (Sandy), Jim Kelly (Deb), Jack Kelly (Marie), and all their children and grandchildren.

She is survived by her extended family on the Marhaver side: her four cousins, Joanne Marhaver Smith, Brian Marhaver, David Marhaver (Lynne), Robert Marhaver (Tami), and all their children and grandchildren.

She is survived by her extended family on the Ames side: her two sisters-in-law, Sandy Richards and Mary LaPoint (Richard); her two nieces-in-law, Gwen Collis (Gary) and Dona Carpenter (Donald), and all their children and grandchildren.

She is also survived by Father Terence Healy, who has been a life-long, family friend.

Family was very important to Beverly, and she cherished her relatives and friends.

A full funeral mass will be held on Thursday, September 25, 2025, at 10:30am, at Annunciation Church, 50 West Street, Ilion, NY 13357. There will be no calling hours. Internment immediately following mass at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Elizabeth Street, in Frankfort, NY 13340.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Ilion Fire Department, 1 Central Avenue, Ilion, NY 13357 or to the Alexandria Bay Fire Department, 110 Walton Street, Alexandria Bay, NY 13607.

A special thank you to the doctors, nurses, and staff on 9E and 10G of Upstate Medical University Hospital in Syracuse, NY, the crew of LifeNet Air Ambulance, and the doctors, nurses and staff at River Hospital in Alexandria Bay, NY for their outstanding expertise, dedication, care and comfort provided to Beverly. An additional special thanks to the Alexandria Bay Village Fire Department, in Alexandria Bay, NY, and the Ilion Fire Department, in Ilion, NY for their tremendous assistance recently, and over the past several years.

Beverly and her family are under the care of the Enea, Ciaccia & Applegate Funeral Directors, 4309 Acme Rd. Ilion, NY 13357. 315-894-8000